Couple's Therapy: A Christmas Story
by evenflo78
Summary: Sookie and Eric have spent many Christmas eve's together. Outtake from my other story that takes place prior, but in the same Universe. Family is not always by blood. M for language.


**A/N: Okay, I was just in a really Christmassy mood and wanted to write a Christmas fic. This story takes place in the Couple's Therapy universe, but prior to their arrangement with the psychiatrist. It shouldn't be very AU, but it might be a teensy weensy bit.**

**Since this was pretty much a last minute thing, I have not sent it to be beta'd. Any errors you find are all mine – of course they always are – so please forgive my mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own them, but we play together from time to time in my silly little head.**

_Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas would soon be there..._

"Eric Northman, get your ass in here right now!"

He cringed as he heard Sookie's high-pitched demand. What the hell could he have done now? Not that Sookie ever really needed much of a reason to chew him out. She had a knack for finding every single thing he did wrong and multiplying it by a thousand with the intent of ripping him a new one. She was good like that. Or maybe he was just bad like that?

He wandered into the kitchen, following the low sounds of her muttering and cussing, internally preparing all sorts of come backs in order to defend himself. Luckily for Eric, he knew Sookie about as well as anyone ever had and could bicker with the best of them.

"What. The. Fuck. Is this?" Sookie grunted out. She held up a tiny red sweater that looked as if it were made for a doll.

"How the hell should I know? Have you been playing with dolls again, Sookie?" He asked the last question with a smirk. Sookie both hated and loved his smirk, and Eric was very well aware of the fact.

"You! You wipe that look right off of your face, mister. This is mine. This is MY sweater. My brand new cashmere sweater I just spent eighty dollars to buy. And now?" She shook the tiny fabric in her anger and held it up to her chest. It was hardly long enough to cover her breasts, and it most definitely wasn't wide enough. "I only got to wear it once," Sookie whined.

"You're the one that asked me to wash clothes. How was I supposed to know you couldn't wash it?" Eric defended, still feeling bad regardless of his harsh words.

He honestly hadn't meant to ruin the sweater, only trying to be helpful. The garment had looked wonderful on her, with her bright blue eyes, and shiny blonde hair; it contrasted beautifully with her complexion. It had nearly taken his breath away when at first he saw her.

Sookie growled, tossing the ruined red fabric across the room with a pout, stomping her foot petulantly. Eric would have found the expression adorable had he not felt so guilty. "Just forget it. Fuck. Let me do the laundry from now on, would you?"

She made move to storm past him, but Eric caught her by the wrist and turned her back to face him. She immediately pulled her arm from his grasp and crossed her arms, scowling and looking on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry, Sookie. I really am," Eric said as he wrapped his large hands around her shoulders, both as comfort and to make sure she was paying attention to him. "Look, I'll buy you a new one. I'll buy you three. Just pick the colors and tell me where. I really didn't mean to ruin your sweater."

"But I liked that one," she whined, still pouting. Eric watched a single fat tear roll down her cheek and couldn't help but to catch it with the pad of his thumb. "I wanted to wear it tomorrow. It's so Christmassy looking, and I..." she trailed off, hiding her face in her hands.

"Don't cry. God, please don't cry," Eric pleaded, pulling her tiny body into his and wrapping her tightly in his embrace. "I'm so sorry. We'll go tonight. Get dressed. We'll go right now. Just don't cry. It's just a sweater. Let me fix it."

"We can't go now. Everything is closed." Sookie sniffed, not hiding the fact that she was wiping her tears on Eric's pale blue sweater. "Shit, I'm being silly. You're right. It's just a sweater. It's fine. I know you were just trying to help." Sookie took a step back, squaring her shoulders and wiping at her wet face. "Look at me, being all emotional."

"It's my fault for washing the damn thing. If it'll make you feel better, I'll go first thing day after Christmas. I'll face all the psycho's out and find you a new one. Promise." Eric dipped low, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

Sookie sniffed again, offering Eric a small smile. "I wouldn't want my worst enemy to face the day after Christmas crowd. You're likely to get killed. A stupid sweater is not worth your life." Sookie laughed a little at her own joke and Eric snickered as well.

"I thought for a minute there YOU were going to take my life," he teased, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and turning them both back towards the living room. "Must be getting close to that time of the month, huh?" Eric joked as they walked.

Sookie turned to glare up at him. "Not that it's any of your business, you big turd."

Eric snorted and dodged the elbow that was meant for his ribs. "Sit. The movie is about to start. I'll get the cocoa."

Sookie did as she was told, only offering Eric one final sneer as she did so, and Eric headed back to the kitchen to prepare the cocoa and pop some popcorn.

It had been a tradition, of sorts, for them since they were kids. Christmas eve was meant for movies and popcorn fights with hot cocoa and snuggling on the couch by the fire. A marathon of _A Christmas Story,_ _It's a Wonderful Life_, and _Miracle on 34__th__ Street_ was playing, and had for as long as Eric could remember.

Even after Sookie started liking boys and Eric grew more and more interested in girls, her Gran had allowed him to spend the eve of Christmas with her. Half the time he didn't remember how he got home, having fallen asleep on the couch with Sookie curled into his side.

Now that they were living together, he didn't have to go home. This was his home. Though Eric supposed, in a lot of ways, it always had been. He could just walk across the hall and fall into his bed, while Sookie climbed the stairs to do the same. Eric cherished his Christmas eve tradition, even if it wasn't really a traditional one.

Sookie was, and would always be, his family, in every sense of the word, if not by definition. Eric returned to the living room toting a tray with their popped treat and steaming cocoa to find Sookie curled up in an old afghan on one end of the couch.

He set the tray on the coffee table and took his seat on the other end, passing Sookie her cup as he did. Sookie's feet wormed their way into his lap, and Eric picked it up without much thought and began to massage the arches.

"Your feet are freezing," he informed her, rubbing vigorously at her frigid toes.

"Just keep doing that and they'll warm up," Sookie agreed without opening her eyes. "I think I'm getting too old for this movie," she said after a moment. "It mostly annoys the crap outta me."

"It's _A Christmas Story,_ a classic. Besides, we HAVE to watch it. We always have." Eric couldn't really disagree though. As funny as it seemed to be when he was a child, he found it rather stupid now that he'd added a few years to his age.

It was just one of those things. When you're younger _McDonald's_ is like a gourmet meal. Their burgers and fries are the best thing you've ever eaten, and you want to eat it all the time. But when you get older you can hardly stomach the stuff. In fact, when someone even suggests it, you feel your stomach turn.

"You know, change isn't always so bad," Sookie said after a brief silence. Eric pulled himself from his musings, giving her his attention. "In fact, change can be a very good thing."

Eric nodded, wondering to himself if he was reading more into her words than he was meant to. "We could watch something else. If you'd like. I'm easy."

"We could watch _Love Actually_. I love that movie."

Eric patted her feet and stood when she took them out of his lap. Sookie watched as he walked over to the DVD rack, scanning the titles. Perhaps it wasn't the best time for her to watch that movie. It always did make her cry, no matter how many times she watched it. She ached to find her happily ever after too.

Sookie hadn't been dating for the last month or so, not since Alcide. Her heart was still a bit tender after their inexplicable break-up. He was just like all the others, she gave him her all, and he ran away as fast as his size twelve's would carry him. She thought she should be used to it by now, but she wasn't.

In any case, this was Christmas eve. It was Eric's and her's night. It had always been that way. It didn't matter if either one of them were in a serious relationship or not. Christmas eve was always set aside for just the two of them. It was one of her favorite nights of the year. Sookie smiled at Eric as he pressed play and sat back down on the couch beside her, groaning when his magical hands resumed tenderizing her feet. Sookie thought if she was smart she'd snatch up Eric for her own and marry him before some other woman had the chance. He was her best friend after all; they got along great.

It'd be easy to transition. Hell, they were already practically a married couple, save the fact they didn't sleep together. Which could definitely be arranged as far as Sookie was concerned. A pipe dream, Sookie mused, it would never happen for them. But if it did, she had no doubt they'd be perfect.

Together, they watched the movie until Sookie felt the tell-tale prickle of tears in her eyes. She wasn't going to cry anymore tonight. It just wasn't going to happen she promised herself.

Eric was completely engrossed in the flick. Sookie kept watch out of the corner of her eyes, biting her lip to stifle her giggles as she filled the palm of her hand with the fluffy, sweet kettle corn. She was practically holding her breath as she waited for the perfect moment, fearful that Eric would hear her muffled chuckles and instantly know what she was up to.

She never had been able to catch him off guard. Sookie was a horrible prankster, giving herself away at every turn.

Sookie couldn't have timed it more perfectly if she tried. As the grandfather clock struck the hour, Eric's head turned instinctively in the opposite direction. When he looked back towards the television, Sookie fired, showering his face in kernels and buttery popped corn.

She laughed hysterically, buckling over in a fit at Eric's shocked expression, only to squeal and stumble off the couch as his face turned malicious.

Sookie scurried and slid on the hard floor, unable to get any grounding to stand and flee properly since she was still laughing. Eric was right behind her, the evil smirk in place and a mischievous glint making his eyes sparkle.

She squealed loudly when Eric grabbed her feet and slid her towards him, pinning her down with the weight of his body as he tickled and prodded her. First at her calf muscles, then at her knees and finally at the sensitive spot on the back of her thigh. It was a spot only he knew about, and Sookie squirmed and cackled, desperate the flee from his assault.

Eric crawled his way up her tinier body, keeping her as still as he could with his own weight until he settled the tips of his fingers beneath her ribcage.

"No. No. No. Don't do it. Stop it. Stop it," Sookie squeaked and laughed as he attacked her most ticklish spots. Her eyes closed and she felt her laughter filling her eyes with tears as Eric's relentless fingers poked and wiggled. "I'm gonna pee. I'm gonna pee."

Finally Eric stopped, laughing as he smoothed the hair back from her face and wiped at her tears. Her eyes glistened with them as she looked up at him, making the blue of her eyes that much brighter and clearer.

Sookie had never looked more beautiful to him. Her face was flushed with color, and the smile still in place on her mouth lit her eyes afire. Eric wanted nothing more than to kiss her. She was so close, so very close; it wouldn't have taken much movement to place his lips against hers and see if she tasted as sweet as he'd dreamed.

Sookie's lips parted as she locked gazes with Eric, her breath catching in her throat. She wasn't laughing anymore as she thought about lifting her head and closing the inches that remained between their lips. She could hardly believe she was thinking it, but for the briefest of seconds there was nothing she wanted more than to feel his lips upon hers.

Laughing aloud at her thoughts, she wiggled beneath Eric, trying to relieve some of the tension that seemed to have filled the room. Not that it really worked, it only proved to make her more aware of the way Eric's body was pressing against hers.

She looked down and away, breaking the trance his eyes had put her in, and when she lifted her eyes to his once more, preparing to tell him to move it or lose it, he shocked her with his lips.

It was just the tiniest of touches of Eric's mouth against hers. There was no tongue, no insinuation of sexual need, no pressing to go further. Just a breath had passed as his lips covered hers with a firm yet soft caress, and then his weight was gone.

Sookie stood moments after him, breathless and in shock. "What was that?" she asked, unable to stop the words or the way they came out in a gasp.

Eric shrugged. "It was just a kiss, Sookie. You're my best friend. Just a kiss, is all." His mouth was saying one thing, but Sookie could have sworn his eyes were saying another.

"Okay," she said a little wary. Did Eric perhaps wish to make it more? Had he wanted to run his tongue over hers the way she had craved to do to his? Her heart pounded in a new rhythm in her chest. This one beating only for Eric, and only in a way that he could ever make it beat.

Sookie resumed her seat next to Eric, albeit a little awkwardly. Before long, she had gotten back into the movie and scooted closer to her life long friend so she could use the warmth of his body to keep her from getting a chill. It was how it had been for her whole life after all.

Eric's heart was still racing in his chest when the tears started. He'd known this was going to be a hard year for her, being that it was the first Christmas that she would be spending without her Gran. And he wanted to punish himself for kissing her they way he had.

But he could hardly regret it. The taste of her still lingered on his lips, and a large part of him ached to do it again, only maybe taste her deeper. He was glad she hadn't pressed him further about his slip for fear he may express his true desires with any more questions.

As Sookie cried during the final scenes of _It's a Wonderful Life_, he wrapped her tight in his arms, keeping silent. Eric knew no words he said could ease her pain, but he could be there for her providing the shoulder to cry on, and the arms to embrace her.

Eric soothed his hands through her hair and down her back, not minding in the slightest that his shirt had become her tissue. What was family for, if not to be there for each other in their time of need?

"It was her favorite movie," Sookie said with a sob.

"I know," was all Eric said as he continied to soothe her with his caress.

When her tears subsided and her breathing evened, Eric knew she had fallen asleep. Though he hated that she had cried herself to slumber, he couldn't help but be thankful that at least he had been there with her. She wasn't alone, and never would be. He'd always be there for her.

Sookie head sagged against his chest, her palm resting atop his naval. The sight was almost unbearable, to have her so close and want her even closer. Her warm breath washing over his stomach both soothed and excited him. And yet, it didn't take long before his eyes started drooping too.

With careful maneuvering and hardly any stir from Sookie, Eric adjusted their bodies so that he lay behind her on the too short couch. His elbow crooked under her neck, serving as a pillow, and his right arm draped carefully over her hip.

Eric couldn't help but notice how perfectly she fit there against his larger body. It felt perfect and peaceful, and Eric drifted off quickly, cuddling against his Sookie and letting the scent of her hair lull him into dreams.

When his eyes peeled open at the rising light of morning peaking through the windows, Sookie was already awake.

She lay facing him, her fingers tracing unseen patterns on his sweater. Eric didn't remember ever in his life being woken up in a better way. He pulled her closer, unable to stop himself from kissing her slightly creased forehead. He could feel the smile that pulled at her face as he did, and knew he smiled in return.

"Merry Christmas, Sookie," he whispered against her warm skin.

"Merry Christmas, Eric."

_Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night..._

**A/N: I do hope that you enjoyed the sweet, fluffy, bunnies that was this outtake. I truly enjoyed writing it, and I hope that you take the time to leave me your thoughts.**

**To all of my readers, I hope you have a Merry Christmas if you celebrate. Either way, I hope your Holiday's are wonderful and you enjoy the time spent with family and friends in whichever kind of package they come in.**

**I love you all!**

**Muawwww!**


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